Square Gets Into Gift Cards for the Holidays

12/10/2012 4:03PM

Mobile payment service Square just rolled out digital gift cards that can be exchanged between both Square and non-Square users and can be redeemed in various ways, Lauren Goode reports on digits. Photo: Square.com

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

... I ... the ... add the beest live I'm Simon console ... Squaw and ... that's the the device that lets you take the cars they are getting into ... discounts on to tells Wall about this with all things digital longer the lovely long that thank you Lord for joining us from New York ... I sent it to the European vacation I'd I did I did I'm very happy meal there on the show we don't have the phone often enough ... so the school app which I was think of the things they can use one of the cars ... that of the of the flea market or whatever ... then doing some in different discounts now ... that's right they just roll this out yesterday and what some people may not know that's where is that they have a consumer facing assets called Square Wallet ... and this is a free mobile app be used to be called pay with Square's mean you are familiar it happen at some point they just decided colon wall and ... and now through that wall and you can actually send a friend a Digital gift card and it doesn't matter whether or not that friend has square downloading time ... the marathon themselves on the chorus ... is hoping that people will then be prompted to download the app but with the I wanted you that you can actually read Ina digital gift card ... ABS QR code or you can print out the email that you can bring that to the business to the Dena ... and I met with the company as a QR code on it so the can can all help to help you with that another also am working with Apple right ... so when Apple rolled out I O and six the new operating system and in the day was that the Iowa six point one inch interviews something called Passbook which is basically in a bid back on the phone ... and it allows you to store your membership cards or loyalty cards your digital get current ... on certain things like that and I'm ... in a boarding pass with the present we got here pretty much in pure play and you are a number adds that an airline is working with ... past but you can just go to the Passbook which uses the little digital wallet and ... ensure your boarding pass that way say now that the reasons for the first time there integrating with Apple passed the ... state intended Digital giftcard to pass Cook and that you know once again if the city this kind of digital wallet thing where the consumer would just go to back instead of using ... possibly for the Poland and SOEs Claire allies that it was important for them to be working with pass by Kenley entities gift cards if that this will work with the ... visit this is gonna be a good to follow people they couldn't be good for the firm's risk way beyond just been been selling the difficulty you use a news story the lot people don't actually use the gift of flight to the billions of dollar swap ... that's the that's a report in the law Street Journal's real-time Economics law of the year so now ... that tally that the total amount that a standoff that goes on news that spent on gift cards and until something like forty one billion dollars over a six year period ... and so a lot of people you get a physical gift card ... and the UN that the that is in much the story might be up souls and you might buy more but that the that is it a go unused or there may be remained on Sunday it's never easy is a phenomenon or something like that ... and so the ... possibility the in the design and using this gift cards but what's good about it first went on asking for the merchant but within about it for sweater ... is done in a square doesn't really have a bit of a sales force and there are a lying on they're they're relying on this kind of organic word of mouth growth right now ... and so people just aren't sending other people it's great to gift cards some I've never heard of Square before well now that curtain ... and warehouses reworking Starbucks recently to process their credit card transactions and seven thousand Starbucks locations around the US ... so now people might start using this to share Starbucks gift cards to which could probably be a boon for